Pope Francis will not meet Russian Orthodox patriarch during Kazakh visit

Pope Francis will not meet Russian Orthodox patriarch during Kazakh visit
August 24, 2022, 7:52 pm

Pope Francis arrives on a wheelchair to meet with participants in the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (IUSG) at the Vatican, May 5, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox church, who backs the war in Ukraine, will not meet when both men attend a gathering of religious leaders in Kazakhstan next month, RIA news agency cited a senior Orthodox official as saying on Wednesday (August 24).

Francis, due to be in the capital Nur-Sultan from Sept. 13-15 to attend the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, has said in several recent interviews he hopes to meet with Patriarch Kirill when in Kazakhstan, Reuters reported.

But Bishop Anthony, the Russian church's second most powerful bishop, told RIA there was no question of the two religious leaders meeting on the sidelines.

"It (a meeting) must be an independent event by virtue of its importance," said Anthony, in charge of foreign relations, who held talks with Francis in early August. Francis has met Kirill once before, in Cuba in 2016.

Kirill, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has given enthusiastic backing to the invasion of Ukraine.

Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (R) and members of to the clergy greet Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill (C) during their meeting at St George church, the main Greek Orthodox cathedral during his visit on August 31, 2018 in Istanbul. (AFP)

He took over as the head bishop of the church in 2009. Ever since, he has moved the institution closer to the politics of the Kremlin, blurring the boundaries that segregated the state from the church.

Kirill, in his statements and actions, has lent weight to the idea of it being a “holy war”.

Pope Francis to meet Russian Orthodox patriarch in Kazakhstan

The Russian bishop has given blessings to the Russian army for their conquests, bestowing symbols like the Virgin Mary on Russian commanders to guide them.

In June, Francis implicitly accused Russia of "armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism" in Ukraine.

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